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Members of MACHINE HEAD, METALLICA, SLAYER, TESTAMENT, EXODUS, DEATH ANGEL, FORBIDDEN, SPIRALARMS, SUICIDE SILENCE, and RUBBLE will perform classic songs by BLACK SABBATH as part of an all-star tribute band that will headline the Robb Flynn & Friends Benefit Concert on Friday, January 17, 2014 at the Oakland Metro Operahouse in Oakland, California.

FORBIDDEN and SPIRALARMS guitarist Craig Locicero, who organized and will also take part in the event, had the following to say about how the idea for the benefit concert came about: “A good friend of ours and all around great person, Nikki Davis, was in a motorcycle accident with her husband Jeff. Sadly, Jeffdied at the scene. Fortunately, Nikki survived but she was unconscious for a few days. She awoke to the daunting reality that her husband, soulmate and best friend had passed away. It was heartbreaking to all of us in the Bay Area scene.

“Robb Flynn and I have known Nikki for at least 25 years and she is a huge supporter of the Bay Area’s metal and punk scene.

“I wanted to help Nikki out a year ago, but most every band was busy on tour and unavailable. A few weeks ago, I had approached Robb about doing a benefit for Nikki and he thought it was a great idea.

“Robb has gone above and beyond to help bring together something very special and memorable to helpNikki on January 17th. He’s been the catalyst for getting this thing off the ground so quickly and Nikki is very thankful.

“We hope to raise enough money to help Nikki continue to get back on her feet because the healing is not finished. She still has medical bills to pay and we want to do anything we can to help our old friend.”

For those who can’t attend the concert, donations can be made to Nikki‘s PayPal account at [email protected].

Dave Lombardo, former drummer for SLAYER, will be featured on SEPULTURA‘s upcoming album. Lombardo was having some quality-time with his kids and dog at the beach near the studio where SEPULTURA is recording, when producer Ross Robinson asked him if he wanted to guest on the recording.

Commented guitarist Andreas Kisser: “He came and it was so nice, so special, so awesome! He is one of the nicest guys in business and he enjoyed the idea a lot. Ross and Mike prepared two drum sets on the living room, facing each other, no cymbals, just tribal drums! When the mics were all ready and running Eloy and Dave started playing and the magic was on; so great! The part they recorded will be a special part on the middle of one of the songs. It came out crazy!”

SEPULTURA have reunited with producer Ross Robinson for their upcoming record, which is tentatively due in October via Nuclear Blast Records. The album is currently being tracked at Robinson‘s studio in Venice, California and is being co-produced by Steve Evetts, who previously worked with SEPULTURA on their Nation (2001), Revolusongs (2002) and Roorback (2003) albums.

SLAYER‘s Tom Araya and Kerry King have announced that Paul Bostaph has rejoined the band on a full-time basis.

“Paul‘s a great drummer and a good friend, and we’re very happy that he’s decided to rejoin the band,” said Tom Araya. “We’re still pretty numb from the loss of Jeff, but we don’t want to disappoint our European and South American fans, and we need to begin moving forward…having Paul back in the band makes that a whole lot easier.”

“I’m very excited to be rejoining SLAYER,” added Bostaph. “We spent a very intense ten years of our lives together, had a lot of fun, made a lot of great music, so for me, this feels like coming home.”

Bostaph was SLAYER‘s drummer from 1992 until 2001 and recorded four albums with the band.

The surviving members of SLAYER have issued a statement regarding plans for Jeff Hanneman‘s memorial as well as shared some memories of the late legend:

“While the details are being worked out now, SLAYER wants its fans to know that there will be a celebration of Jeff Hanneman‘s life sometime later this month, along with Jeff‘s family and friends, the public will be invited to attend. More information will be posted here soon.

“Kerry King and Tom Araya are trying to deal with the loss of their brother by remembering some the good times they shared.

“KERRY: ‘I had so many great times with Jeff…in the early days when we were out on the road, he and I were the night owls, we would stay up all night on the bus, just hanging out, talking, watching movies…World War II movies, horror movies, we watched “Full Metal Jacket” so many times, we could practically recite all of the dialogue.’

“TOM: “When we first formed SLAYER, we used to rehearse all the time, religiously, 24/7. Jeff and I spent a lot of time hanging out together, he lived in my father’s garage which was also our rehearsal space. When he got his own apartment, he had an 8-track and I would go there to record songs I’d written, not SLAYER songs, other stuff I’d written. At a certain point, you still have the band but you start your own lives outside of the band, so that 24/7 falls to the side, you don’t spend as much time together as you once did. I miss those early days.’

“KERRY: “He was a gigantic World War II buff, his father served in that war, so when SLAYER played Russia for the first time – I think it was 1998 – Jeff and I went to one of Moscow’s military museums. I’ll never forget him walking around that place, looking at all of the tanks, weapons and other exhibits. He was like a kid on Christmas morning. But that was Jeff‘s thing, he knew so much about WW II history, he could have taught it in school.’

“TOM: ‘We were in New York recording South of Heaven. Jeff and I were at the hotel and we had to get to the studio – I think it was called Chung King, a real rundown place. So we left the hotel and decided to walk, but then it started raining. We walked maybe five blocks, and it was raining so hard, we were totally soaked, so we decided to get a cab. Here we are, two dudes with long hair and leather jackets, absolutely soaked, thumbing to the studio. No one would stop. We had to walk the entire way.’

“TOM: ‘Jeff was a lifeline of SLAYER, he wrote so many of the songs that the band will always be known for. He had a good heart, he was a good guy.’

“We’ve just learned that the official cause of Jeff‘s death was alcohol related cirrhosis. While he had his health struggles over the years, including the recent Necrotizing fasciitis infection that devastated his well-being, Jeff and those close to him were not aware of the true extent of his liver condition until the last days of his life. Contrary to some reports, Jeff was not on a transplant list at the time of his passing, or at any time prior to that. In fact, by all accounts, it appeared that he had been improving – he was excited and looking forward to working on a new record.

We are saddened to learn that SLAYER guitarist and founding member, Jeff Hanneman, has passed away. He was 49. Here is a statement from the band:

“SLAYER is devastated to inform that their bandmate and brother, Jeff Hanneman, passed away at about 11AM this morning near his Southern California home. Hanneman was in an area hospital when he suffered liver failure. He is survived by his wife Kathy, his sister Kathy and his brothers Michael and Larry, and will be sorely missed.

NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) 2013 has now concluded, and many new and innovative products were featured on the massive lot at the Anaheim Convention Center. Many of these products pertain to musicians in the Metal scene, and some of the products are just plain cool.

The turnout was crazy as usual – some were there to do business, while others were there to be seen. Metal remains one of the best represented genres of music, as members of SLAYER, ANTHRAX, CANNIBAL CORPSE, MORBID ANGEL, NILE, MONSTROSITY, MEGADETH, and morewere checking out the latest and greatest gear as well. Without further ado, let’s get started with what APESHIT thought were the best products NAMM had to offer for our metal fans out there.Continue reading →

Every year, NAMM bestows upon us shiny new toys for musicmakers of all genres to make new (and old) sounds with. NAMM 2012 was no less a musical heaven for the products, gadgets, and innovations that help make metal happen. We took a spin through the showroom floor at Anaheim Convention Center to check out some new equipment that our metal cohorts use and abuse. Full report after the jump.Continue reading →

MACHINE HEAD guitarist/vocalist Robb Flynn joins Gary Holt of EXODUS, Alex Skolnick of TESTAMENT, and other Bay Area thrash metal luminaries contributing written material to the deluxe upcoming photo book Murder in the Front Row: Shots From the Bay Area Thrash Metal Epicenter, by Harald Oimoen and Brian Lew. This massive volume is due December 2011 from Bazillion Points Books, and sneak peeks and preorders are available at this location:

In the book, Flynn recalls his initiation into the local scene via highly-energized gigs like RAVEN, METALLICA, and EXODUS at the Berkeley Keystone; Texas transplants D.R.I. at the Mabuhay Gardens; and EXCITER at the Stone. “I became totally obsessed,” Flynn writes. “I punched a kid and broke his nose at an ANTHRAX show at the Kabuki for saying [EXODUS guitarist] Gary Holt sucked. Yes, I was a thrasher, willing to fight and bang and bleed for my thrash metal gods.”Continue reading →

After last week’s successful “The Big 4“ concert in Indio, California, the heavy metal foursome of METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH, and ANTHRAX have announced an East Coast edition of the show at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York on September 14th, 2011.

Tickets go on sale Friday, May 6th at 10am through Ticketmaster. Pre-sales for MetClub members and Yankee season ticket holders go on sale Wednesday, May 4th.